Chief executive of British energy giant BP Bob Dudley and Reliance Industries  chairman Mukesh Ambani met petroleum and natural gas minister M Veerappa Moily on Tuesday and discussed details of their planned $5-billion plus investment in the KG-D6 block.

Investments in the downstream oil and gas business including setting up of a new mega regassified LNG (liquefied natural gas) terminal and gas marketing were also discussed, sources said.

A joint statement said this plan, when implemented, would entail a potential total investment in excess of $5 billion in next 3-5 years.

“They briefed me about their plans. I encouraged them to invest more to help in India’s energy security,” Moily said.

Chairman RIL, Mukesh Ambani said the “BP and RIL partnership is focused on finding more hydrocarbons. We hope to significantly contribute to India’s domestic production.”

“We will bring all our expertise in deep water to explore the prolific gas basins in India,” said Dudley.